HAPPY HOOFERS HOOPLA. Hiking Section 1 Article and Photos by Kathy Bonvouloir. April-May-June 2017 Volume 27, Issue 2

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1 HAPPY HOOFERS HOOPLA April-May-June 2017 Volume 27, Issue 2 The Happy Hoofers Chapter encompasses Broward + Hendry Counties Monthly Meetings Second Thursday of every month@7:15 P.M. Except June/July/August Fern Forest Nature Center 201 Lyons Road South Coconut Creek, FL Hiking Section 1 Article and Photos by Kathy Bonvouloir The plan is to hike section I in 3 days. First day we would hike to 10 Mile Camp (10 miles), second day we would hike to Oak Hill Camp (14 miles), and the final day would be 7 miles out. We met up at MM63 at 7:30 am and then we all piled into Mike s car to make the trip to the Southern Terminus on US41. Our group members were Lynn and Mike Thompson, Esther Muram, Junko Waibel, and Kathy and Rene Bonvouloir. Inside this issue: Hiking Section 1 1 HH Upcoming 3 Activities Chairs Corner 4 Officers & 4 Committee Chairs Weekend in Sapelo 5 The hike started out with a group picture in front of the Southern Terminus sign. It s a lovely day and everyone is very excited for the adventure. I, Rene, Esther and Junko are especially excited because this will be our first time hiking the whole Section 1. The trail is dry and the sky is clear. Off to our side we can see the FTA setting up for the week of trail maintenance. The trail appeared to be blazed and cleared. We met a friendly cement alligator on the trail. And shortly after that we crossed paths with a beautiful yellow corn snake. Mike showed us the remains of the World War II airplane that had crashed. It was off to the west of 7 mile camp in a small cypress dome.

2 We walked around for about half an hour finding small and large pieces of the plane, very cool. There was some water for filtering in the dome. Around mile 7 Lynn was starting to feel pain in her foot and at mile 9 she had to stop to rest. Mike took the rest of us up to 10 mile camp. Mike left us to go back for Lynn, but she decided she was going to hike back to 7 mile camp for the night and then hike out the next morning. Mike came back to let us know of their decision to end the hike, the rest of us decided we would continue with the original plan and complete the hike. Section I had claimed its first casualty. We set up our tents, it s about 2:30 pm and hot as hell. We all found our little slivers of shade and relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon. At about 5 pm a group of 6 guys came into camp. And shortly after that another 2 guys showed up, Alex and Caesar. This was their first backpacking trip. They are young and have canned goods in their packs. Houston I see a problem. I went to bed early, because I am suffering with a cold. The rest of the group followed soon after. We had decided we needed to leave camp at 7 am, so we could beat the rest to Oak Hill Camp. Mike had said that the camp could only hold about 5 tents. 6 am came very quickly and we broke camp in the dark. By 7 am the sun was up and we where ready to go. The group of 6 where just getting up when we left. We have a 14 mile hike today. It started out dry, but by 1 pm we where in water, at times up to our knees. What makes the hike even harder is under the water in the mud. It sucks you down and wants your boots. And then the sun, its beats you down and you need to keep drinking water to stay hydrated. And you need a lot of it. The blazes are very hard to find. The Everglades is a beautiful place, but you need to be prepared and alert, especially when hiking in water. There are water moccasins that bite and limestone holes to get caught in. By 4 pm I was worn out, I was so tired and feeling so sick. Finally at 5 pm we made it to Oak Hill Camp and dry land. We had just finish setting up camp when this young man came running into camp, bare chest, bare feet, and hair down to his butt and carrying a large axe. You know it gave us pause, what s going on here, yikes. SOS! Right behind him the group of 6 guys appeared. Because the clearing was so small they had to clear out new areas for their tents. At about 8 pm the 2 younger guys arrived. The one called Alex just collapsed on the ground, he was totally wiped out. I m not sure he even ate his dinner. And can you believe they had to hike in the dark and in water for over an hour?! I was first in bed again. Our last morning we where up bright and early again. Put on my wet boots, they did not dry over night, but that s ok, because we had to step right back into water right away. The morning fog was sitting in the cypress dome giving us an eerie but beautiful feeling. It was really breath taking. Today we are hiking only 7 miles and hope to be done by 2 pm. Water, water everywhere water.

3 z Happy Hoofer Activities z Sat 5/6/17 Thur 5/11/17 Sat 5/20/17 Sat 5/27/17 Sat 6/3/17 Sun 6/4/17 East of Interceptor Hike 4-5 miles - Limit 30 Chapter Meeting Fern Forest Nature Center 201 Lyons Rd. South, Coconut Creek, FL :15 PM 9AM - Annual Meeting, Chapter Council and Board Meetings - YMCA Camp McConnell, 210 SE 134 Avenue, Micanopy, FL Snorkel Phil Foster Park WPB Limit 20 People Members First National Trails Day Hike at Fern Forest walk boardwalk and visit nature center Fern Forest Day Hike Postponed from 4/23/17 9:15AM Megan Digeon megandigeon@gmail.com David Denham ddenham@consultant.com Megan Digeon megandigeon@gmail.com Megan Digeon megandigeon@gmail.com Lynn Thompson ma12thom@bellsouth.net Kathy Bonvouloir threebons@aol.com Kathy Bonvouloir threebons@aol.com Esther Muram italusa@gmail.com Steve Galla steve@stevegalla.com FOR ALL HH ACTIVITIES THROUGH MAY Also, check us out on Meetup Our Facebook Group is: Welcome New HH Members! Randy Mazie Marilin Vales Susan Vega Christopher Bell Joshua Davis Matt Gilmore Patrick Given PLEASE CONSIDER WRITING ARTICLES ABOUT YOUR AMAZING SUMMER ACTIVITIES AND SUBMIT TO ME FOR THE NEXT HOOPLA.THANKS!!!! ELIZABETH BROWN

4 Chair s Corner It s that time of year when the temperatures start rising and rainfall increases which means outdoor activities start winding down. In our case, the rain is a good thing since we need it to put out the Cowbell Fire that s burning on the Florida Trail in Big Cypress immediately north of I-75. Once it s out, we ll have to figure out what trail maintenance is needed to repair the damage. While doing your spring cleaning, please set aside any lightly used camping gear for the Waz Nu raffle at the Southern Florida Trail Association Conference in October. I ll have more specific information on how to donate these items as it gets closer. If there are any hikes or activities you would like to see planned for next season, please let Lynn or me know so we can work on it over the summer months. Happy Trails! Megan Digeon Chapter Chair Chapter Officers and Committee Chairs Chapter Chair Megan Digeon MeganDigeon@gmail.com Vice Chair Tom McDaniel GThomasMcDaniel@bellsouth.net Secretary Kathy Bonvouloir Threebons@aol.com Treasurer Esther Muram Itailusa@gmail.com Chapter Council Rep Kay Ferrara KayFerrara@bellsouth.net Activities Lynn Thompson ma12thom@bellsouth.net Trails David Denham DDenham@consultant.com Public Relations Karen Smith KSmith623@bellsouth.net Programs Tom McDaniel GThomasMcDaniel@bellsouth.net Membership Mary Halferty MHalferty@outlook.com Editor Hoopla Elizabeth Brown Libertb@aol.com Website Larry Alesi LarryA1049@yahoo.com Volunteer Hours Kathy Bonvouloir Threebons@aol.com Hospitality vacant Historian Robert Grosswald RGKayak@aol.com

5 Trip to Sapelo Island Article and Photos by Elizabeth Brown During a trip to Cumberland Island in February 2015, discussion around the campfire brought up another spot for a future get-together, Sapelo Island, GA. Mike and Lynn had been there several years ago and told us what a great get-away it was, off the beaten path and a daily limit to the number of people on the island on any given day. So, we ohhhhed and ahhhhed and asked Mike to start planning our next barrier island adventure. So of course, he got right on it..! So, on Thursday March 16, 2017 we met at the dock at Darien, GA, for the water ferry trip to the island. The group consisted of Mike and Lynn Thompson, Esther Muram, Kay Ferrara, Kathy and Rene Bonvouloir, Bill Allison, Barbara T, Jeff Samuelson and me. In Mike s ongoing avoidance of pesky bugs, he booked us at a time of nighttime temps in the 30 s. Good job again, Mike! We boarded the ferry after Bill and I were reprimanded for bringing lawn chairs and having to return them to our cars. The ferry departure delayed minutes to wait for the school children who live on the island to arrive and board, they ride back and forth everyday to attend public school on the mainland. We ferried across arriving at the island dock about 30 minutes later. Upon disembarking we were met by our host for the weekend, Maurice Bailey. Maurice is a descendant of slaves who worked and lived on Sapelo. Slaves worked on cotton plantations, cut live oak timber for ship building and assisted in cattle and sugar cane farming beginning in the late 1700 s on the 16,500 acre island. The number of slaves grew to 385 in the 1850 s. After the civil war the slaves were allowed to purchase land on the island, primarily in the Hog Hammock area of the island. The Bailey family owns the campground area where we stayed, the general store, an island bar, and the bicycle rental and island tours concessions. On Thursday night, Maurice dropped off our rental bikes for the next 24 hours use. We took turns on the bikes over the next day exploring around the southern area of the island to see the lighthouse, the amazing deserted beach, the Behavior Cemetery, the University of Georgia Marine Institute and a home owned most recently by R.J. Reynolds, currently used as an event venue. On Saturday we were picked up by Maurice for a van tour of the island which allowed us to cover more mileage getting us near the northern end where we visited the First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff, the Chocolate Plantation and the sacred island shell ring which dates back 4,500 years. On Sunday we all headed our own ways with many happy memories.

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